About The 2010 Oscar Shorts

On Sunday my husband and I had a real treat. We went to the beautiful and Historic Crest Theater in Sacramento, where we had a wonderful time watching the live action short films nominated for this year's Oscar. If you want to know more about the films, their histories, or the people involved in them, there are plenty of places to find those things. 


This is not a film site and I am not a critic, so I'll just share a bit of what we enjoyed. If I were a critic I might say something about this two hour program being better than the majority of what has been coming out of Hollywood lately. But I'm not, so I won't.


* 'The Door,' from Juanita Wilson and James Flynn, was a poignant and personal story, portraying the deep cost of the Chernobyl disaster.


* 'Instead of Abracadabra,' from Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström, was a fun piece about a, shall we say, less than amazing magician. This one elicited bursts of laughter and giggles from the skimpy audience.


* 'Miracle Fish,' from Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey, was an interesting and well thought out story with a bit of a surprise. It was also one of the two English language offerings.


* 'The New Tenants, ' from Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson, and the other English language film, was peopled with some very familiar faces, and at least one very familiar name. One of the quirky supporting characters in this black comedy was none other than L&O:Criminal Intent's Vincent D'onofrio. He and the rest of the cast kept the audience laughing throughout. And I'm truly glad I no longer rent!


* 'Kavi' from Gregg Helvey, was by far the most complete and powerful of the lot, about a young boy whose family is forced into slavery over his father's debt. 

We enjoyed all the films. A lot of folks are making predictions about who will win the Oscar, but I'd rather just talk about the films themselves. I wish all the film makers the best and thank them for their gifts.